Aviv Dubai Championship: Who's playing, where and how to watch in person

The Aviv Dubai Championship returns for a second year to kick-start a Dubai double for the European Tour in successive weeks at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The tournament action begins on Thursday. Here are the key details.

What is it?
Introduced last December, originally as the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World, the tournament represents the penultimate stop on the European Tour’s 2021 calendar.

It replaces the cancelled Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player in South Africa, which will feature again next year for its 40th anniversary. The Aviv Dubai Championship carries a $1.5 million prize fund.

Competing players will have one final opportunity to secure a spot in next week's DP World Tour Championship, which comprises the leading 50 available players on the Race to Dubai.

When is it?
November 11-14.

Where is it?
The event is played on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Who is playing?
Race to Dubai winners Tommy Fleetwood and Martin Kaymer headline the field, with European Ryder Cup star Paul Casey another marquee name. European captain Padraig Harrington and Ryder Cup rookie Bernd Wiesberger will also tee it up, together with four-time European Tour winner Matt Wallace.

Past Rolex Series victors Min Woo Lee and Rafa Cabrera Bello, and defending champion Antoine Rozner, also take part. There will be a home hope to cheer for, too, with Emirati Ahmad Skaik given a sponsor’s invite. The UAE’s No 1-ranked golfer, Skaik hit the opening tee shot at last year's event to mark the 49th National Day.

Past champions
Frenchman Rozner triumphed in the inaugural run last year, finishing two shots ahead of compatriot Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Italian Francesco Laporta and English pair Andy Sullivan and Wallace. It was Rozner’s first victory on the European Tour. He added a second earlier this year, triumphing at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Tickets
Free general admission tickets are available here. To gain entry to the event, all UAE residents and citizens must provide proof at the entrance of a vaccination administered at least 14 days before the event date through the Al Hosn application, or a negative PCR test result within 96 hours of attendance to the first day of entry. Children under 12 do not require proof of vaccination. Gates open at 7am.